Mary Wolfinbarger and Mary C. Gilly

With consumer experience, expectations of e-tailers appear to be increasing. But, what do consumers really want from their online shopping experiences? What attributes are most important in their judgments of quality, satisfaction and loyalty? Answering these questions is critical as online buyers' perceptions of quality, as in other settings, are likely to play a role in "e-loyalty," market share and profitability. While previous research has addressed specific attributes of the online shopping experience or compared consumer perceptions of online and offline shopping experiences, only recently have scholars begun to develop a conceptual framework for defining and measuring online quality from the beginning to the end of the transaction, including information search, website navigation, ordering, customer service, delivery and satisfaction with the ordered product.

Our research addresses the measurement and prediction of consumer ratings of online quality through multiple studies designed to (1) uncover the important attributes of online shopping, (2) dimensionalize those attributes according to consumer categorization processes, and then finally, (3) empirically document the dimensions through quantitative analysis. The first study uses online and offline focus groups to identify attributes important to online consumers. The second – a sorting task – categorizes and rates these attributes according to consumer perceptions. The third, an online survey using Harris Interactive's consumer panel, offers quantitative evidence of the role of these attributes in consumer ratings of etail quality, satisfaction and loyalty/intentions to repurchase.

Our analysis suggests that consumers group the attributes of online shopping into four categories or dimensions. These dimensions are:

1. Fulfillment/reliability: includes (a) the accurate display and description of merchandise so that what customers receive is what they expected, and (b) delivery of the right product when promised. Fulfillment/reliability is the strongest predictor of customer satisfaction and quality, and the second strongest predictor of loyalty/intentions to repurchase.

2. Website design: includes all elements of the consumer's experience interacting with the website (except customer service), including navigation, information search, order processing, appropriate personalization and product selection. Ratings of website design are the strongest predictor of loyalty/intentions to repurchase, and the second strongest predictor of quality and customer satisfaction.

3. Customer service: is responsive, helpful, willing service that is quickly responsive to customer inquiries. Customer service ratings predict quality, loyalty/intentions to repurchase and customer satisfaction, but not as strongly as do fulfillment and website design.

4. Security/privacy: includes security of credit card payments and privacy of shared information. Ratings of security/privacy are related to quality only for customers who have used a website 4 or more times. It appears that customers initially judge security/privacy from the overall appearance of professionalism at the website and reputation of the company.

Advice about how to attract and retain etail customers frequently focuses on experiential aspects such as community-building and creating a sense of fun and excitement. In contrast, this analysis suggests that the most basic building blocks of a "compelling online experience" are fulfillment/reliability and outstanding website functionality.